Working Relationship
by Radiant Angel Girl
Summary: "Remind me never to pick up a stranger in a bar again."
1. Chapter 1

Here is a new story I've been working on. Hope you all like it.

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><p>Andy woke with a start at the distant beep of her cell phone alarm. There was an intense throbbing behind her eyes, and as she opened them, she felt like the light was attacking her. She had definitely had one too many last night. It was a celebration, she rationalized. So, it was totally normal for her to get smashed the night before her first day on shift, right? Wrong. It was very very stupid. It was the heavy weight of an arm across her lower back that was even more abnormal.<p>

Blinking her eyes open and turning her head in the direction of the offending window, she willed herself to focus on the owner of the arm. All she could see was thick dark brown hair, a little shaggier than she liked on a man, and his face turned into the blankets. She rolled over and slipped out from under the calloused hand and found her robe, dangling from the bathroom door.

The small amount of activity had caused the man to stir slightly. She stood still for a moment, both admiring his toned back, but also to contemplate the conundrum before her. Andy shrugged to herself, and walked into her kitchen to check her phone. The clock read 5:30 AM, and she had 2 unread text messages. The first, from Dov, stated simply, "Rock and roll!" The time stamp was at 12:38 AM. That was maybe ten minutes after she had left the bar where her friends were celebrating their new jobs as Toronto's finest. The second text was from her best friend Traci: "Don't do anything I wouldn't do ;)." They must have realized at the same time that She had left.

She rolled her eyes at her friend's encouragement, and set about preparing coffee. She had to be at the station in an hour for her first shift. And she currently had the problem of a nameless, faceless man fast asleep in her bed. Ugh. This was giving her more of a headache than she already had.

Reaching up into the cabinet above the coffee pot, she pulled down the bottle of Tylenol and tapped out two into her palm before tossing them back into her mouth and swallowing them with a sip of water. Pouring herself a cup a coffee, adding some milk, she heard a groan coming from her bedroom. Clearly he hadn't been on his first drink when they left last night, either.

Glancing at the microwave for the time once more, she saw that it was 5:47. She needed to ditch this guy fast so she could get a move on. She walked back into her bedroom to find mystery man standing in full glory, with his hair rumpled and a confused and pained look on his face. She noticed his boxers a few inches from her foot, and reached down to grab them, before tossing them across the bed at his chest. "Looking for those?" she asked with a smile.

He glanced at her and gave a sharp nod before bending to put them on. Just because she was kicking him out didn't mean she didn't get to admire… He seemed a little malnourished, but was muscular and tan. He looked like it had been a day or two since he had had a shave, and also appeared to be due for a trim. He continued putting on articles of clothing while she stood by, watching. "Okay, so… last night was fun," she paused to take a drink of her coffee. "But, we're going to have to cut the after party short. I have to leave for work in ten minutes."

He looked at her, and chuckled. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Ten-till-six."

"I'm going to be late, too." He walked out into her living room and located his shoes, stepping into them and tying them quickly.

"It was nice, uh, meeting you…" she trailed off, having either forgotten his name or never having learned it.

"Its Sam," he grinned, offering her his hand.

"Andy," she said offering her name, and accepting his handshake with a sheepish smile.

He gave himself a once over and walked to her door before turning around. "Maybe I'll see you around."

She walked him to the door and said, "As long as it's not on the job," before closing the door after him.

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><p>Twenty minutes later she was in the locker room of the police station pulling on her bullet proof vest. Traci walked up next to her and leaned against the lockers, and waited expectantly. "So… How was he?"<p>

"He, who?" she asked innocently, trying to dodge the question.

"That guy you left with last night."

"Oh, him! Uh… good?"

"You sound real sure of yourself…"

"Okay… amazing. But it's highly unlikely we'll be repeating last night's events."

"Officer McNally, you are such a kill-joy."

She backed out of the locker room, and the pair headed to the parade room together. Locating the other rookies at a table in the front of the room, the pair took the two open seats and patiently awaited their assignments for the day. At seven on the dot, Staff Sergeant Boyko appeared before them. He explained how nothing quite prepares a rookie for what they will see on the streets, how real-life situations differ so much from what was learned at the academy. No matter what their backgrounds were, they were not ready enough. Only experience could teach them what they needed to know. Then he continued with car assignments, "Today, McNally, you're with Shaw. Nash you are paired with Williams—." He was interrupted by one of the detectives poking their head into the doorway.

"Uh, Sarge, our guys from drug squad are here. Where do you want them?"

"Oh! Interview One is good. Where was I? Diaz your with Best, and Peck you're in booking with Orlando. Serve, protect, and don't screw up."

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><p>The day had gone mostly without a hitch. Two drunk and disorderly calls, one B&amp;E, and one noise complaint and now she was left to do the stack of paperwork associated with each event. She sat in her cushioned office chair at the desk next to Shaw's, writing, looking through her notes on the day, when she heard someone approach.<p>

"Shaw!" The voice pulled her out of her paperwork induced haze. The voice belonged to a blonde detective wearing jeans and a sport coat. The man appeared to be in his late thirties.

"Jacobsen! What are you doing in this neck of the woods? Don't you work out of headquarters with the drug squad?"

"Actually, your guy finished his case yesterday. He just gave his formal statements, and should be back in uniform tomorrow."

"Thank God. Eight months is far too long for an undercover operation."

"Yeah, we really don't like leaving them in that long… more of a chance for things to go…wrong." He shook his head to himself, and looked up, offering his hand to Oliver.

Shaw took the proffered hand and gave it a good shake. "Its good to see you Jacobsen, but don't come back around here any time soon. You always tend to leave with my good friends following you."

"Ha, ha. Yeah. See you around, Ollie."

Andy had been watching the entire interaction between both men. Oliver looked over at her and spoke, "Back to work, McNally. Those reports aren't going to write themselves."

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><p>Here it was, 6:30 and Andy was just getting out of her uniform. She changed into the jeans and tank she had worn into the station that morning. As she was leaving, Traci stopped her.<p>

"Are you going to the Penny tonight?"

"Nah. There is a bar a block away from my place that I'll hit before home."

"So… did you get his number?"

"Whose number?"

"Sexy sleepover guy. I didn't even get to see his face. But I did get to see his behind while you were standing at the bar chatting him up. And can I just say, that view was pretty good," she said with a wiggling brow.

"God, Trace. That was a bad drunk decision."

"Okay… Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"What wouldn't you do?"

"I can't think of anything…," Traci confessed laughing.

"Goodbye, Traci," said Andy leaving the locker room. She walked in the direction of her apartment building, but stopped in at a bar that was on her route home.

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><p>Walking into <em>The Shamrock<em> she took a seat at the bar. When the bartender appeared before her, she gave her order, "Scotch, neat." Then, she felt rather than saw someone slide onto the stool next to hers.

"Must have been quite some day, huh?"

She looked to her right, and laughed. She had recognized the voice easily. The voice had belonged to that same shaggy haired man from this morning. Now, he was even more handsome, if possible. He had gotten a haircut, making him look years younger, and was clean shaven, giving clear view of his dimpled cheeks. "Yes. Yes it was. I was almost late, too, by the way," She said, with an arched brow, pinching her fingers together. The bartender returned with her drink and left when he asked for the same.

"So, how was work?" he asked her, accepting his drink from the bartender.

"It was long, but good. It was my first day."

"First day… like fresh paint…" he said trailing off. The phrase stuck out in her mind, Oliver had said something similar that morning. At her questioning gaze, he continued, "Everything is new and clean and you want to keep it that way."

"Yeah…" she just looked at him. His eyes were beautiful, dark brown and framed by long, dark lashes. She finished her drink and got up to leave. "You, uh, want a repeat of last night?" She asked simply.

Sam smirked at her and laughed. He threw a few bills on the counter and stood. "Lead the way."

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><p>A few hours later, they lay together comfortably, cover pulled up to her chest, and his fingers tracing patterns onto her shoulder. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "I'd, uh, love to stay, but I actually have to be on time to work tomorrow," he said with his head tilted towards hers. He pushed some stray hairs behind her ear and kissed her softly.<p>

"No, I understand. My job is not so forgiving with lateness either."

Sam stood and walked over to her dresser, and finding a notebook, he wrote his phone number upon it. "Here's my number if you think you'd be interested in dinner or something one of these days," he said looking back at her.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

He walked back over to her and stole a quick kiss before leaving.

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><p>"Well you're perky this morning," Traci said, opening her locker.<p>

"Yeah, I had a good night."

"Oh? A 'good' night as in good night kiss or kisses or…" she trailed off and looked around the locker door next to her.

"Again with the eyebrow?" said Andy, and the conversation was dropped. Andy finished securing her hair and fixed her utility belt in place, and they walked into the parade room together. They slid into their seats in the parade room. Dov walked in talking animatedly with Chris. She knew something was up, judging by his level of excitement. "What's going on?"

"They got another training officer today. He was undercover—." Before he could continue, the staff sergeant appeared at the front of the room, discussing the major criminals they would be looking for that day. As he finished, Andy could see another officer try to sneak into the corner of the room, but he did not go unnoticed. He was greeted by a storm of applause and hoots.

"Okay, okay," Boyko said, his hands out trying to quell the cheering, "everybody, let's welcome back Officer Sam Swarek. Hopefully Drug Squad doesn't come knocking for a while, eh?"

To say Andy was surprised would have been a severe understatement. As soon as she recognized the face, she averted her eyes, feeling a blush warm her cheeks. This did not go unnoticed by Traci.

"Thank you, thank you. Feels good. Had a good drink, shaved, took a hot shower… with your mother," at the laughter that ensued, Boyko took back over.

"Okay, okay, car assignments. Peck you're with Williams, Diaz you're in booking today. Nash, you'll be with Officer Best, and McNally you are paired with Officer Swarek. Be gentle it's his first time in uniform in eight months." She smiled at the Staff Sergeant disguising her discomfort. "Serve, protect, and have your partner's back."

From where he stood, he couldn't see the face of the rookie he had been paired with, but there was something familiar about her. When everyone began to disperse, he saw her face as she attempted to steal a look at him. They both glanced awkwardly at each other. "Um, hi," she said, first.

"Sam Swarek," he said offering her his hand, mirroring the morning prior.

"Andy McNally," she replied, shaking his hand.

He smiled at her, cheeks dimpling, "Nice to meet you." They stood like that in the parade room for a moment before she pulled her hand back inelegantly. "Shall we?"

"Yes, Sir."

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><p>Frankly, it was odd the way they worked so well together that first day. Treating each other as if they hadn't met before was a requirement, as they had spent the majority of their day in the company of the other officers, running a speed trap.<p>

"So McNally… as in … Tommy McNally?" Sam asked as they walked back into the barn.

"Yeah," she said, halting her steps for just a moment. Sam noticed the way in which she glanced at the floor with humiliation. He must have heard about him. "Yeah, he's my father," she said looking directly into his eyes.

"He was a good detective, and good police."

"Yeah…" she said softly, and walked toward the locker room.

She stopped when she heard him say, "So are you going to the Penny tonight?"

"Yeah, probably," she spoke with a nod.

"I'll see you later, partner," he said with a grin.

She nodded and continued into the locker room. She sat down and rubbed her hands over her face.

Sam. He was a police officer. He was her training officer. She was a rookie. They couldn't be more than that. There were rules.

She heard the door swing open and looked up as Traci sat down next to her. "So, you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"What do you mean you don't know? You, being all dodgy with Swarek this morning. What did he sleep with you and forget to call… Oh…Andy…" She realized right then. She knew she had seen him before. It had been two nights ago at the bar. "That's what's going on, huh? He's your fling from the other night. But Andy you have to be smart now. He's off limits until you get cut loose."

"I understand that, Trace." She stood up and changed out of her police blues and into the clothes she had worn that morning.

"Let's go to the Penny."

"Ugh. Remind me never to pick up a stranger in a bar again, Trace."

"Yes, ma'am."

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><p>At the penny, leaving alone presented itself as a challenge. She had been sitting with the rookies for a while, listening as Dov regaled them with stories of his day with Oliver Shaw. They commiserated about how boring the case load had been that day. And when the pitcher ran dry, Andy offered to get the refill at the bar. She let her eyes run across the room until she saw a face she recognized. Sam and Shaw along with Detective Barber were sitting at a table close to the bar.<p>

She walked up to the bar and waited to be served.

"Fancy meeting a girl like you in a place like this," she heard that familiar smooth voice speak.

She laughed and turned her head to look at him, Sam, in the eye. "Sam, we can't. There are rules."

"Funny, I'm not really the rule kind, McNally."

She looked at him and quirked a brow, and shook her head. "No rules, huh?"

"Yeah, they never work out," he whispered, his voice low.

She picked up her pitcher and sauntered back to her table, not before looking back over her shoulder saying, "Well I do have a rule. Buy me a drink." She smirked and walked away, leaving him bewildered at the bar. He returned to his seat, a fresh pint in hand to two gawking friends.

"Sam. What are you doing with that rookie?" It was his good friend Jerry speaking.

"Nothing. Nothing." At the look Oliver was giving him he shrugged, "What?"

"Sam, you know rookies and training officers can't…"

"I know, Oliver. There's got to be some kind of exception…"

"Uh, yeah. It's called not being police, or not being her training officer."

Andy had excused herself from the table and paid her tab. Now she was walking out of the bar, she made one last glance at Sam's table to find it vacant.

She began her walk home, but as she reached the edge of the parking lot, a figure walked around the rear of a large silver truck, and pinned her to it. "Hey, you want a ride?" It was Sam, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah, I could do with a good ride," she said cheekily.

"Hop in."


	2. Chapter 2

Ok. Anyone who recognized my inspiration from Grey's Anatomy in the first chapter... here is a gift. www. hulu .com/watch/78343/stone-undercover-solidarity-forever- go to minute 23:30 and enjoy :) The show is absolutely rediculous, but it's cute and it has this amazing man in it... :) So yes... do that after you read **and** review this chapter, please.

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><p>"Good morning." Her voice was thick with sleep as she looked at him with heavy lidded eyes. He was amazing looking in the morning, she observed. His long lashes fluttered open, and his hair was no longer gelled in place.<p>

"Gmrngah, befule." Sam mumbled, stretching and turning onto his stomach, with his face turned towards her.

"What? What language is that?" Andy asked, turning onto her stomach, snuggling her nose in close to his, their foreheads touching. She giggled a little at the closeness.

He cleared his throat, and whetted his lips. "Its, ah, 'good morning, beautiful,' in sleepy-Sam-ish" he said, smiling at her. She giggled in response. "What time is it?"

"Early. Super early."

"Early enough for another round?" he asked wagging his brow.

Andy shoved at his shoulder and laughed. "You are insatiable, you know that?"

"Andy, it's true," he said grinning. "I didn't get any for eight months. You woke the beast."

"The beast, is it?"

"Or the sleeping giant," he said leaning forward to steal her lips in a kiss. He pulled her body close to his and they began to move in familiar cadence together again.

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><p>An hour later, they were awake, and Sam retrieved his gym bag from his truck. They showered together, barely managing to refrain from any funny business. Their day at work began slowly. Paired together once again, they patrolled the streets, watching for no crime in particular. Around four, the twosome began to head back to the station, but not before a call for a missing child came through. Andy and Sam were assigned to stay with the parents at their home until the child was found. Somehow through the chaos, Andy was the one able to keep the family calm. Her kind nature soothed the tension, until Oliver escorted the seven-year-old home.<p>

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><p>"Sam, what are we doing? What is this? I need to know." Andy was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling fan as the blades swung round and round. The moonlight sifted through the blinds. She was in his bed, this time. A welcome change of scenery.<p>

"What do you mean?" He rolled onto his side and supported his head on his elbow.

"I mean, you're my training officer. I'm your rookie. This shouldn't be happening. It's against the rules. What are we doing? Why?" He watched her as she punctuated her words with gesticulations.

"You tend to overthink a lot, don't you?" he wondered. She looked at him directly in the eyes. He could see the light shining off of them."I don't know, yet. I know that this is something. Something amazing. You're amazing."

"Sam, you've known me for less than a month. How do you know I'm amazing?"

"I can just tell. It's the way you were with that mother, tonight. The way you dedicate yourself to every case that comes over the radio, it's just you. You are amazing, and you will be amazing police." He reached over a placed a calloused hand to her cheek. Rubbing a thumb beneath her lashes, he sighed, "You make me happy. I don't often have cause to be happy. Okay?"

"Okay," she smiled up at him, and snuggled closer into his embrace. She closed her eyes, ready to welcome sleep, content for now just to consider herself and him 'happy.'

They were disrupted suddenly by the shrill ringing of her cell phone. An unknown number flashed across the screen, and she reached to grab it from the side table, quickly flipping it open. Sam sat up next to her, a look of concern firmly in place. "Hello?" He couldn't make out the words on the other end. "Yes, this is she. Yeah, he's my father." She was standing now, pacing the space between the bed and the dresser. "Is he…is he okay?" He watched her breathe a sigh of relief as she looked to the ceiling; tears present but not allowed to fall. "Okay. I'll be there soon. Thank you." She sat on the edge of the bed a moment, staring at the phone, before snapping it shut and standing to look for her jeans.

"Andy. What's going on?" He got out of bed and walked over to her, halting her hands.

"It's, uh, my dad. He was in an accident. I, uh," her voice was starting to shake, "I need to go. I need to get to the hospital."

"Here, get dressed, I'll drive you," he said, handing her the jeans she was searching for from the floor by his ankle.

"No, Sam, that's okay. You don't need to." Her hands were shaking as she pulled her socks on. She looked up and he was already dressed, throwing a faded police academy sweatshirt over his head.

"Andy," he said, running a thumb over her cheekbone briefly, before pulling her up by her hands. "Come on."

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><p>The pair arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later, and after seeking direction from the reception desk, they soon arrived at a waiting area, seeking news from a doctor. They were the only people present in the small area, so when the doctor entered, he headed straight for them.<p>

"Ms. McNally?" At her nod, the man spoke, "I'm Dr. Belkov, I've been treating your father. According to the police, he wrapped his car around a post. We've taken care of some internal bleeding, and repaired a punctured lung from a broken rib. We'll be finishing up shortly, then we'll get him to recovery. We'll let you know when you can see him. The police would like to talk to you in a few moments."

He walked away from them, and Andy dropped her head into her hands. "Oh, god. The police!" She laughed mirthlessly, folding her hands and resting her forehead upon them.

"It's okay, Andy. Everything will be okay." He rubbed soothing circles into her back. She slumped forward for a moment, almost relaxing, before tensing up again.

She turned her head and looked at him. "Sam, what division do you think this accident took place in? I have to work with these people." Suddenly her countenance changed, from mortified to worried. "Oh, god, you should go. I don't want you to get in trouble," she said sitting up, shrugging away his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere, Andy. I can't get in trouble for being the guy you called for a ride."

"So that's your story?" He responded with a feeble smile. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the responding officer approaching. It was Oliver Shaw, to the rescue.

"Sam, what are you doing here?"

"I, uh, brought McNally up here. She doesn't have a car."

Oliver gave an unconvinced eye to Sam, and then turned his attention to Andy. "Okay, Andy," he took a seat across from her, "Your dad crashed into a post off of Queens Quay. We're waiting on his tox-screen results before we can say if alcohol was a factor. We have reason to believe it was. So far, we will need to ticket him for damaging city property. An additional ticket will proceed if he was under the influence while driving. I'll try to keep this quiet for you. It can't be easy."

Sam had resumed the soothing circles on her back, as she rubbed her palms over her face. Oliver looked between the two warily. "Uh, Sammy, brother, can I borrow you?" They both stood and walked to the other side of the waiting area to talk in hushed voices. "Sam. What are you doing? This is Tommy's daughter. She cannot be your rebound. Not only because she is his daughter, but it is against the rules! Sam."

"Look, Oliver. I know how this looks. If something were going on between me and her, and that's a big "if" she wouldn't be my rebound. _That_ was over before I left. The UC was my rebound, Ollie."

"I, uh, won't mention seeing you here with her, especially since I have a feeling that you came straight from your house."

"How did you deduce that?" Sam asked, folding his arms across his chest, looking over Oliver's shoulder to check on Andy, before focusing back on his friend. This did not go unnoticed by the man.

"Shall I start with the obvious? It's 3 AM and those are the clothes McNally left the station in today, and you clearly jumped out of bed to get here. And she lives half an hour away from this hospital, and you live about fifteen minutes from here."

"Oliver. It's just… things with her are… complicated. You won't say anything, right?"

"Sam, I'm not about to get you in trouble over matters of the heart."


	3. Chapter 3

I am so grateful for all of the awesome reviews you guys are giving me. It is amazing to get such enthusiastic feedback, so keep it coming. I often find the most inspiration from the reviews. So, if there is something you see happening, or that you really want to happen, mention it in your review and I might incorporate it into the story.

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><p>Oliver walked away from Sam, throwing a glance back at Andy before continuing back to the nurse's station. Sam strode over to her and she stood up to meet him with shaking hands. Oliver watched the way Sam held her elbows, how he brushed the hair away from her eyes that were watery from tears, the way he pulled her in for a hug and rested his chin on her head. He had known for a while that something was going on between the pair, but he trusted Sam to do what was right. Sam would end things with her personally or professionally. Judging by the level of closeness between the pair, he guessed that soon Sam would no longer be her partner on the force. In fact, he had never seen this level of tenderness come from Sam before, not in any of his previous relationships, and he had been around for most of them.<p>

"Andy, what's wrong?" Sam asked, smoothing her hair as he held her close.

"Sam." She said his name as if it was a statement. "I'm a mess." She backed away from him and sat down, looking at her hands that she held out suspended above her lap fingers outstretched, trembling. "My father is an alcoholic. I have refused to recognize this fact for more than ten years. I doubt he ever will. I mean, well, you've met him. You know." She was looking up at him, now, almost expectantly.

He sat down next to her, taking one of her outstretched hands in his. "Yeah, I know. Did I tell you he was my training officer?" She shook her head. "He was one of the best uniforms 15 had. About a year after I got cut loose he was made detective. Homicide. He was fantastic. Closed an astonishing number of his cases, which is really remarkable. Nobody noticed his, uh, issues for a long time. The people who were closest to him just thought it was the cases getting to him."

"Then his work got sloppy and he was 'asked' to retire," she finished. "He started drinking because my mom left, and he was lost. He was left with a fourteen year old girl that he didn't know how to raise, while she was busy building a new life with someone else. He got left behind. He started going to the bar more. He left me home alone so much… I was alone, Sam." He had never noticed just how tired she looked. "Am I a bad daughter for hating him for this?"

"No, but you don't hate him. You may hate his actions, but you don't hate him." She looked at him with watery eyes and nodded, before resting her head onto his shoulder. Sam looked across the waiting room back to the nurses' station. Oliver was still standing there, on his cell phone, probably calling it in to the station. He watched Oliver and a look of understanding passed between the two. It wasn't long before Andy fell asleep, head still on Sam's shoulder. He stayed still for her the rest of the night, not sleeping himself.

The next day, Andy confronted her father. It made her feel horrible, like she had been run over by a truck. But she told him he needed to go to rehab or a treatment program. She could not have him in her life as an alcoholic. It would kill him and it would kill her. In the end, after sitting silently through her pleads, he agreed.

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><p>A few weeks later, they were back at Sam's house, laying awake in bed. The pair was sprawled out on their backs, staring at the shadows on the ceiling created by the moonlight shining in the window and ghosting across the stucco surface. "So where were you for eight months?"<p>

"Undercover."

"Well, duh. I mean what was the case? Why did you go?"

"Why did I go? Ha. I was, shall we say, freshly unattached. I had no reason to stay. So when narcotics showed up with a case file on the notorious Anton Hill, I took the spot." He looked at her, and strung his left hand through hers.

"Hill?" she asked, unfamiliar with the name.

"He was a heroin kingpin, whored out little girls on the side." He examined her fingernails, running his fingers over them.

"And you got him?" He rolled onto his side.

"Yeah, I got him."

"Sam, I think I need a different training officer," she said looking into his eyes and bringing her hand up to cupping his whiskered cheek.

"Yeah?" His eyes were bright, and he was smiling wide. "I hate to tell you, but I already asked Boyko to have you reassigned, because I was interested in pursuing a relationship with you. Apparently everyone and their wife has been worried about me being single until death so he was more than happy to oblige."

"Huh. Is that so? Who am I stuck with? Hmm?" she asked with an elbow into his rib.

"Uh, Oliver, I think. But, I don't really want to talk about him in the bedroom…" he said, waiting for her laugh.

Andy just smiled and looked at him, almost longingly. "So we're really going to try this? Dating?"

"Well, yeah. Although I think we are kinda past the dating part… I mean I already know that you like it when I do that thing…" Sam trailed off gesturing into the air. He was delivered another elbow to the rib. "Oof. Stop doing that."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll stop doing that thing…" he said leaning over her, pressing a kiss to her jaw.

"Sam?" she looked at him mischievously.

"Hmm?" was his response as he listened expectantly.

"I'm gonna need you to do that thing again." He looked at her a moment before she started giggling. "I'm kidding. I have to sleep at some point tonight. I feel like tomorrow will be a big day."

"So… Will you go out with me tomorrow night?" It was his turn to be mischievous.

"Yes. But it better be some place nice, Sam."

"You got it, sweet pea."


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter. Please more reviews. I need them to survive!

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><p>The next morning, Sam drove Andy to the station. They entered the building together and walked to the locker rooms together. Oliver noticed, and jutted an elbow into Jerry's ribs, causing him to look up in surprise. An overt directed look in their direction from Oliver had Jerry appraising the scene himself. The pair parted ways and went into their respective doors and Oliver gave Jerry a pointed look.<p>

"You know what that's about?" asked Jerry.

Oliver replied, "No, but I have a feeling." Jerry just shook his head and made a motion to zip his lips.

A few minutes later, everyone assembled for parade. Frank Best appeared at the front of the room in a white shirt, and the audience erupted in applause. "Thank you, thank you. I appreciate your support. Boyko wants to remind everyone from headquarters that you answer to me now," he said with a chuckle. "First order of business: Detective Luke Callaghan, take it away."

The detective stepped forward, his short flaxen hair was combed neat, and he wore a suit and tie, as well as expensive looking shoes. "Ok, guys. About 11:30 last night we got a call about a possible domestic and noise complaint. A pair from the last shift responded, and found the couple that was presumably quarreling dead. Looks like a murder-suicide situation but we need a few of you to help with questioning, and the rest of the investigation. Uh, can we take, Peck and Diaz? After parade I'll brief you on the rest."

Best took the podium back, "So… now that I'm in charge I thought we'd shuffle things up a bit. McNally you're with Shaw, and Epstein you go with Swarek. Nash you're with Williams. Serve, protect and… uh… whatever." The crowd of officers chuckled at his ending and dispersed. Andy looked towards the back of the room, where she could see Oliver approaching Sam.

"Hey, brother. You up for poker tonight?" He was testing the waters. He knew there was a reason the partnerships were shuffled.

"Nope. Busy tonight." Sam's answer seemed bored and unaffected; he looked up from his coffee and made eye contact with Andy.

"Busy, huh? With what?" Oliver turned his head and quirked his brow, and watched Andy approach the pair. "Or should I say who?"

"I have a date, so if you two could get back here at a reasonable hour so I could collect her, that would be great," Sam said quickly, pushing off from the wall and walking towards Tracy who was standing in the opposite corner of the room, talking to Jerry quietly. He offered Andy a wink as he walked past her quickly. "Nash, let's go."

Oliver and Andy spent a few hours patrolling, and had little activity on the street, save a few traffic infractions. "McNally, let's grab lunch, yeah?" She nodded, and they drove to a nearby diner. Once seated, the pair ordered their food and made small talk. Finally, Oliver had had enough of the chit chat and decided to get to the real issue on his theoretical plate. "So have you and Sam… been seeing each other this whole time? Not that I'm trying to "out" you or anything, but, uh, Sam's like a brother to me."

Andy suddenly felt incredibly awkward and self-conscious in her seat across the table. She was relieved that the food had arrived, but her partner still looked at her expectantly. "What, uh, gave it away?"

Oliver contemplated a moment before replying, "I don't know. I guess a combination of things. When you get to know a person well, you just notice when they change, you know? And Sam… he's a stable guy. When he was younger and he did undercover ops frequently, he never changed. He never let his values falter. Even when his marriage ended, he never lashed out." Noticing the shocked look on her face, he scrambled for words, "Shit, uh, he never told you?"

"Um, no. Nope. Not yet. Our first date is tonight. I suppose we'd be getting to that over dinner…" She looked everywhere except at Oliver.

"Frankly, I'm surprised you hadn't heard about it from some other channel, McNally. This place is a swarm of gossip. In fact, I'm surprised your relationship hasn't surfaced yet…" Now he was looking at her with a raised brow.

"I guess you're right. But, Sam and I have been nothing but professional at work."

"No, no… you're right. You guys work well together. You do good work."

"How long was he married?"

If Oliver was honest, he was surprised to hear her ask that question. It meant she wasn't running.

"Two years."

"Oh." That was her only reply. The pair slipped back into small talk, before paying the bill and returning to the station to fill in paperwork.

At some point in the afternoon, Oliver and Andy were filling their coffee cups at the coffee station near the copier, when Luke appeared. Oliver looked up, noting the visitor. He greeted the man with fake cheer, "Oh, hey there, home-wrecker. Oops, I mean homicide."

"Oh would you just drop it already, Oliver. It's obvious your friend has," the man replied, pulling documents off of the copier.

Jerry, who was approaching from across the hall with an empty cup, shot him a dirty look, "Ha. Luke, that's a good one."

Luke smirked as he said, "Well, I did hear he was shacking up with some rookie." Andy's ears perked up at that comment. She managed to keep the embarrassed flush from rising to her cheeks.

"Where'd you hear that? From your rookie of the week?" Jerry asked, with a sardonic tone and a smile on his face.

"As a matter of fact, she's my girlfriend, not that it is any of your business. You've been screwing Nash since she was in the academy." To say Andy was shocked at that revelation would be an understatement, but she still maintained her composure.

"Whatever. You ruined someone's marriage for nothing. So you could break up and you could go back to rookies," Jerry deflected.

"Such a shame," Oliver said, shaking his head, and then he stopped suddenly to look forward at the wall for a moment. He had just remembered his partner's presence at his side. He glanced over at Andy with an apologetic look. "Such a shame…" he mumbled, now embarrassed at his antics. Luke looked between the two men, gathered his copies, and walked briskly back to his office.

"Andy, look. Secret's safe with us," said Jerry. "I obviously have some of my own."

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><p>So... where do you see this going? Please review... I got less than ten for my last chapter... pretty please...<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

"Traci!" Andy called to her friend in a harsh whisper in the locker room after shift. "I cannot believe you have been hiding this from me!"

"What are you talking about?" Traci replied obliviously, hanging her uniform shirt in her locker.

"You and Jerry."

Traci froze. She turned on her heels towards Andy, who was already unbuttoning her uniform shirt, and sat down on the bench. "You know? Who told you?"

"Well…Callaghan sort of, and Jerry. It was bad. Those two and Oliver got in this catfight type thing. It was awful to be near…" She paused a moment, clearing her thoughts as she pulled her sundress over her head. "Traci! How could you not tell me? You gave me all kinds of shit when you found out Sam was mystery man."

"I don't know… I guess I didn't think we would last this long. Look, it's not like things are against the rules for us now. Unlike you and Swarek… hmm?"

Andy looked into her small locker mirror to apply a smear of lip-gloss. "Actually… Sam asked to be reassigned. We won't be work partners anymore. So that means…"

"You're dating!" she gushed.

"Yeah, I guess. Well date number one is tonight. I'll tell you about it tomorrow," she said as she walked out the door, pulling her hair out of her coat. Traci followed her out of the locker room and they parted ways walking towards their perspective dates.

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><p>Meanwhile, Sam stood in the bullpen near his desk. He was dressed nicely and wore his leather jacket, waiting only for Andy to emerge from the locker room. Jerry approached, munching on French fries from a carton.<p>

"So, Sammy… why you hanging around? Didn't you're shift end fifteen minutes ago? If I didn't know any better I'd say you were waiting for someone…" The smirk on his face gave it all away.

"You know." It was a statement, confirmed by a short upward nod from Jerry as he plucked another fried potato from the box.

"Look, Sam. Just so you're warned, your girl may have overheard a little tiff between Callaghan, Oliver, and me this afternoon."

Sam just stared blankly at the man. He sucked air through his tongue and teeth, and folded his arms across his chest, and looked down, finding a dirt spot on the floor suddenly very interesting.

"I'm just saying, if you've been keeping any secrets… you ought to tell her. Soon."

"Thanks for the heads up, Jer. Although I hardly think any of you should have brought it up on the job, anyway."

"Sorry, Sammy. The guy's a dick. Somebody had to remind him."

At that instant, the locker room door opened, and though Sam's mouth opened to say something in response to Jerry, not a sound emerged. Seeing Andy dressed for a date had trumped his mind, and he could not find a logical thought.

"Ready to go, Sam?" she asked, mildly amused at his expression.

When he failed to answer, Jerry slapped him on the back hard and answered for him, "Yes, yes he is. Be careful with my man, McNally!" She simply rolled her eyes and slipped her arm through Sam's. He sent a glare to Jerry before he escorted the rookie out of the building, not unseen by Luke Callaghan through the glass walls of the detectives' offices.

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><p>Sam had chosen a casual Italian restaurant for their first official date. Glasses of wine had been poured, bowls of long pasta smothered in steaming sauce, adorned with scallops for one, and meatballs for the other rested in front of each person. They chatted over the small events that had occurred over the course of the day.<p>

Towards the end of their meal, Andy twirled some noodles onto her fork, and popped them into her mouth. She took the moment to ponder her course of action before swallowing. She drained her wine glass before speaking, drawing courage from the small amount of alcohol. "Sam. Why don't you tell me about your, uh, marriage?" There. It was out in the open.

"Oh. You heard." Andy was slightly surprised at his response. He wasn't hiding it, but he hadn't been forthcoming with it.

"Were you going to tell me yourself at some point in our relationship?"

Sam sighed. It was a defeated sound, almost exasperated, verging on exhausted. "I was. I just didn't really know what to say. It's in the past."

She contemplated his words, before reaching across the table to grasp his hand. "Well," she started, "Those things stay with you."

He glanced down at her painted fingernails, and rubbed his thumb smoothly over her knuckles. "That's true. I, uh, well, what would you like to know?"

"Who was she?"

His head tipped forward, and he looked at her, almost uncomfortably for a few moments before he began. "Detective Jo Rosati. She was a handler for one of my undercover cases. My only contact with the normal world, you know?" At Andy's nod, he continued. "Well we got married on the fly after one of my cases, and within about 3 months she was doing her own "undercover" work." He leaned back in his chair, downing the remainder of his alcohol, and began to gesticulate as he spoke, "I found her in an interrogation room with Callaghan and it took everything I had not to kill him myself. I put up with her for a few more months before she threw divorce papers at me and I happily signed." He made a motion as if to wash his hands of the mess. He thought for a moment before saying, "If you stay with me, you'll find I don't often admit to making mistakes. That was my biggest mistake ever."

"And that's what prompted you to go undercover this last time?" She asked.

"Yeah." As she watched him he seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, not really focused on anything, then his eyes locked on hers, and he leaned forward to grasp her hand again. "And then I came back and I met you and you were this perfect thing. I, uh, don't usually ever say this on the first date… I think I am falling for you, Andy."

Andy smiled at him, and a giggle emerged. He gave her a look as if to say, _what?_ So, she laughingly replied, "I guess I am just surprised by your openness."

"Well, secrets don't come out all neat and tidy. I'd much rather be honest with you."

Much later, after dessert had been eaten, the bill had been paid, and Sam's truck had been locked safely away in his garage, the pair walked in his front door, hand in hand. When hands parted so Sam could unlock the door, Andy smiled, and then giggled. He looked over at her with a raised brow. "Sam. I've fallen for you, and I can't get up."

He continued to stare at her for a moment as she cracked up laughing. But her laughter was contagious. He abandoned the key in the door, and pulled her to him, a smile broad on his face. "Is this an "old" joke?"

She smiled and shook her head no. "No, but it is almost true. I've already fallen for you…I am in love with you."

"Good. Me too." He got the door unlocked and took a step inside, and waited for Andy to follow him inside before turning to lock the door behind them. The pair froze and their eyes locked when they heard the metallic pop of a firearm, the glass of the storm door shattered, and Sam collapsed forward, a panicked look on his face.

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><p>I know. Rude. You'll hate me now, but love me later.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

So... Here is the next chapter. Kinda flying by the seat of my pants with this story. Hope you like it!

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><p>"Fuck!" yelled Sam as he fell into the frame of the door, blood oozing out of the wound in his left shoulder. Immediately he forced himself outside, and looked up the street at a car skidding away. He looked around for any other witnesses as Andy called 911. "RBMS-155. Have them check that plate registration."<p>

"What? Why?" She had that panicked look on her face. With a hiss of pain, Sam was carefully pulling his shirt over his head and looking at the injury in his shoulder.

"That car looked familiar. And it sped away… probably the shooter…" he grimaced, and pulled air in through his teeth, a pained breath. He sat down on the porch swing and with his right arm threw the shirt to Andy. "Can you put pressure on this for me?"

"Uh, yeah, yes." She grabbed the shirt from the air and pressed it into the bleeding bullet hole. He hissed at the pressure, and looked at her. Her eyes were wild and she was focused on the task at hand. "Sam." Her voice was shaking.

"Think like a cop, McNally." They sat in silence, save the strained breaths coming from Sam. Soon, the sound of sirens came rolling down the hill, followed by the lights on the cruisers. An ambulance parked at the end of the drive, and paramedics ran up the he walk to the porch, taking Andy's place at Sam's side. She backed into the corner, out of the way. She was shaking. She watched the scene unfold. The uniforms were the second shift workers, not anyone she recognized. An unmarked car drove up and parked, Jerry and another petite blonde woman emerged. The pair trudged up to the porch.

"Sammy! Are you ok?" Jerry ran up the two steps onto the veranda.

"Obviously not, Jer." It took Sam a moment to focus on the person next to the detective. "Jo, you want to tell me why Nick Cassidy just drove to my door to shoot at me?"

"I don't know what that bastard was doing here." She crossed her arms at her chest and leaned into the column supporting the overhanging roof. She stood there as if she had done it countless times before.

"Well you should. He's one of your informants."

"You're sure it was him?" Jerry inquired.

"As sure as I sit here shot." Andy made a noise at that comment, something between a squeak, a hiccup and a sob. She was near hysteria, shaking like a leaf. She watched the detectives as they spoke with Sam. How he maintained his professionalism even as he was treated.

The paramedic looked up from the wound. "This is a deep bullet wound, it's surgical. Let's get you to the hospital. Sam rolled his eyes as they hoisted him up and walked him over to the gurney. "He eyed it for a moment and the male paramedic replied to the glance. "It's procedure, officer. You know the drill." Sam grunted as sat onto the gurney. With his good hand, he motioned for Andy to come to him.

"I'm sorry about this."

"Hey. Hey, its okay, Sam." She paused to run her fingers through his hair. She pressed her forehead to his and whispered, "It's not like I was going to sleep with you on the first date anyway." She got her desired reaction when he laughed heartily, eyes crinkling in a smile, but not before the smile gave way to a grimace again. "Go. I'll be there soon." In response he handed her his keys.

"Do not dent my truck, McNally!" he said as they wheeled him to the ambulance.

Andy walked back to where Jerry and Jo stood on the porch, and hugged her arms to her chest as a breeze passed by. She passed them and sat back down on the swing and rubbed her hands over her face. "Andy, are you okay?" asked Jerry, who until this point had not addressed her at all.

"Uh, yeah. Just a little shaken up. Not what I was prepared for on my evening off." She shook her head to herself, not making eye contact with either of the detectives.

Jerry noticed the anxiety coming off the younger girl in waves. "Uh, well, Officer Andy McNally, this is Detective Jo Rosati. She works out of Guns and Gangs."

"Nice to meet you," Jo said, offering her hand to the rookie. Andy took the offered hand and shook, nodding her head to be polite. "I came down on this one because that car that you reported belongs to a confidential informant for an old case Sam and I ran a few years back. This kid's family was cozy with a gun trafficking operation we took down. Would you be able to recognize him from what you saw?"

"I don't know. I really didn't see much. I could ID the car, that's probably the extent of it."

"Okay. That's a starting place. I'm going to have forensics look around make sure we have everything. You should go, okay?"

"Huh?"

"To the hospital. You should go. He wants you there. He may not actually say it, but he wants you to be there when he gets out." Jo gave Andy a sympathetic smile and gestured to the truck parked in the drive. Andy nodded and walked over to the truck and slid into the driver's seat as Jerry and Jo looked on.

"That was nice of you," Jo heard Jerry say behind her.

"Yeah, well… We did get a divorce for a reason. We were meant to be with different people." Jo reached for the front door and pulled it open, stepping into the familiar surroundings of the front room of Sam's house. Jerry followed behind her and they looked through the broken glass that littered the floor.

"So what happened with you and Luke, then?"

"We were meant to be with different people." She stated it simply, as if it were a simple thing. She deviated from the crime scene to walk further into the house, noticing the pink and green overnight bag that sat on one of the couch cushions in the living room. She turned back to Jerry, who was still by the entrance shaking his head to himself.

"Oh, so you cheated on him, too," he surmised.

"Jerry, this isn't really the place," her tone was a mix of humiliation and uncomfortable regret.

"I guess you're right… Sorry. Still protective of my best friend." Jerry was willing to let the issue drop. He would work with her, but he still didn't have to like her.

"I know. Its…just… I'm glad he's moved on." She walked back to the door, checking the windows for signs of fingerprints.

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><p>Well? What did you think?<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Okay- here is the next chapter. I'll be honest, I am running on empty with this story. I lost a lot of steam during my finals week (molecular biology sucks out all of the creativity a person has in them). So now your reviews more than ever are important to the life of this story. Where do you see it going from here?

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><p>Sam opened his eyes, blinking slowly. The fuzz of the pain medication left him with blurred vision and dulled hearing and a nasty headache. He could hear the steady noise of the bedside machines, and as his eyes slowly focused, they found the television playing an infomercial for those backwards robe things. Those things are ridiculous, he thought to himself absently.<p>

With a groan, he lifted his hand, wanting to rub the sleep from his eyes, but was found with immediate resistance from the stabilizer placed on it. A spark of pain shot through his shoulder, and he pushed his head back into the pillow to weather the sting.

Almost immediately his eyes fell on Andy. She was asleep, leaning forward with her head resting on the hospital bed near his hip. She was on his good side, so he took the opportunity to smooth her hair away from her face. He had no concept of what time it could be.

Upon arriving at the hospital, they had ushered him into a bay where they could inspect the wound further. It only took a minor procedure to remove the bullet, but they had given him the good drugs for pain.

He reached for her hand that was lying haphazardly near her face, and grasped it in his. He wanted to see her eyes. He knew he needed to tell her himself that he was fine. She turned her head and grumbled, sitting up and back slowly. She ran her hands through her messed hair and looked at him. Sam gave her a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him artlessly.

He made a move as though he wanted to shrug but had thought better of it and said, "Feel like I've been shot."

"Humph," was returned, as well as a raised brow.

"It hurts, but they've got me hooked up to some good pain killers. And you're here."

"Wow. Those must be some good drugs, eh? The Sam I know isn't so mushy."

"Humph." It was his turn now. "I've already said I love you. I'm allowed to be "mushy" with you." He had even attempted air quotes, even more entertaining with the pulse-oximeter attached to his other hand. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments until the commercial in the background annoyed him to death. "God, what time is it, anyway?"

She glanced at her watch, and then back to him, "Four-oh-eight." She stood up and popped her back before she walked over to the window to look out the blinds. "Oliver should be around here somewhere. Jerry called him after they left your place."

"Speak of the devil!" said Sam as the missing party arrived.

At that exact moment he walked in with two paper cups of what could be assumed was a poor attempt at coffee and passed one over to Andy. "You're an angel, Oliver."

Sam looked between the two of them for a moment before asking, "Where's mine?"

"Yours?" repeated Andy, "Oh, no. No coffee for you. You're on the mend."

"Coffee is not going to further damage my shoulder, Andy."

"Ugh, fine. I'll be right back. I promise it's awful, though." She made a face as she downed hers and threw the paper cup in the trash. "Where is the cart?" she asked, looking at Oliver.

"Uh, down the hall to the left." She walked out of the room, and Oliver took her chair next to Sam. "You okay, brother?"

"Hurts like fucking hell, but I've had worse."

"Yeah? I believe it." He took a sip from his cup and grimaced, "This is awful." He paused for a few minutes, before his urge to talk over took him. "So… How was your date, otherwise?"

"You've been dying to ask me that, haven't you?" At Oliver's nod, "You are like a high school girl, Ollie. It was great. Things with her are just easy. We're not trying too hard to be something that we aren't, because what we are is already perfect."

"They _are_ giving you the good pain meds aren't they?"

"Yeah. You know, I actually love her. I didn't feel for Jo a fraction of what I feel for Andy. It's a little unexpected. I mean she was just a one night stand… And now I am in love with her. I want to marry _her_. Like, for good."

"We have got to get you off these drugs, Sammy. If Jerry heard you just now…"

"I know. I know. I'm gonna sleep some more now."

"Okay, brother." Oliver chuckled to himself. Andy entered the room and took one look at Sam and rolled her eyes. She had been standing outside the room waiting for them to finish talking before she interrupted, and everything he had said made her happy. She set his coffee to the side and perched herself on the window sill.

"He's chatty on morphine, huh?" she mumbled.

"Yes he is. It's like truth serum, you know."

"Yeah." She took a step forward and leaned into the bed, smoothing his furrowed brow with her thumb. "Yeah, I know."

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><p>Mushy, I know. But its almost Christmas. With the right inspiration I might get another one out by saturday.<p> 


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